Good afternoon. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to appear before you this afternoon.
My name is indeed Stephen Kaye, and I am the president of the Canadian Police Canine Association. I represent hundreds of law enforcement canine handlers from across Canada. I'm here to share some insight into why our association believes it is critically important that there be additional measures to protect service animals.
I served nearly 30 years as a police officer. During that time I tried to be as brave, courageous, and helpful as I could be. There were situations and times when I was absolutely afraid. When I was a canine handler, I had a tool that didn't know what it meant to be afraid. I had a friend that faced the brunt of the risk, and an animal eager and driven to precede me into the most dangerous of situations. They were my service dogs.
Over the years I've been asked by countless numbers of people what it's like to work a service dog. This is very difficult to articulate if you have never experienced it. These are animals that want only to work, to do the thing they have been so painstakingly trained to do. There is no greater joy for a service dog than to simply go to work. lt takes months and months and tens of thousands of dollars to train one. Once deployed, they train every day for their entire careers in order to remain as skilled as possible. A service dog lives to work; and tragically, at times they die for it as well.
The functions they perform are, in many cases, completely unique. Law enforcement does not have a machine or scientific instrument that will do many of the things these animals can do. Tracking a criminal from a crime scene to where he or she may be hiding, for instance, well, there simply is no other device available to us that will do this. Finding a bomb secreted deep inside a structure or an aircraft, well, we might be able to locate it after much time and effort, but the odour of the explosive cannot be hidden from a specialty service dog.
To suggest that law enforcement has become dependent on these uniquely specialized creatures is simply an understatement. They have become as public a servant and ambassador for us as has any human member or officer. Some people may not care very much for the police, but a service dog always draws a crowd and much attention at public presentations.
I can't tell you the number of times I have been approached by people who have a belief that these animals are already protected by legislation that is identical to that which protects police officers. Most people mistakenly think these laws that are extended to police officers are also relevant to service dogs. They believe they are viewed as officers as well. lt was always with no small amount of humility that I had to correct them and say this is in fact not yet the case. Every person I have shared this with over the years is dumbfounded by this. We have the ability with this legislation to change that.
I think it's a mistake to view this legislation as an amendment to protect dogs and horses for the police or law enforcement. I did not own a single dog that I deployed. I was that animal's handler and its partner, but these animals are owned by and serve the communities they deploy in. They are in fact the public's dogs. They are their dogs, which we are very privileged to work to help keep their communities safe and to bring those intent on disruption or harm to account.
Matt Williamson of the Edmonton Police Service experienced the public's outcry and sorrow when Quanto was stabbed and killed. The city of Edmonton lost one of its dogs, and the outpouring of grief and support was overwhelming. I have to confess, though, I knew this would happen, because I saw and felt the very same thing in 2001 when my own service dog was shot and killed. As much as this has impacted me, Matt, and our families, it has scarred our communities as well.
I have stood many times surveying dark basements, alleys, terrain where I knew somebody violent and possibly armed was hiding. Not once was I excited to enter those areas. Yet every time I had a dog with me, it was everything I could do to hold them back from racing into that abyss and risk. lt seems as if at least once a month there are stories of these animals being punched, kicked, choked, thrown, stomped, stabbed, sprayed, submerged, even bitten, and thankfully less frequently but still too often, sometimes killed. We accept this saying that at least it wasn't a person, and this is true, but they are still a living, breathing being that is trying to help us do the right things. Not protecting them and deterring people from mistreating them is simply unacceptable.
These animals are highly trained and loyal to a fault. If I went up to the roof of this building and gave my service dog a command to jump over the ledge, he simply would without hesitation and likely as quickly as he could. Of course I'd never do this, but that's how much they trust us, believing that we won't do anything to place them unnecessarily into harm's way. Yet every day, somewhere in this country, they precede human officers into high-risk events and certain danger. They do it because they're asked, trained, and prepared for this. They hope when it's done that they might get a scratch behind the ears, a pat on the side, or a bit of play with their handler. They have no comprehension they may be injured or killed protecting us.
They give us everything they have every time we ask. They don't question it, rationalize, or consider risk. They don't show fear or ask for help. They just do. lt's wrong for us not to recognize and protect them for their unique role and to put something in place to deter those who would harm them. Quanto's law is important indeed but it could just as easily be called Hrain, Nitro, Cyr, Bandit, Caesar, Chip, Justin, Cloud, Valiant, Cindy, and a host of other dogs' names. These are all dogs that have died serving their communities.
Thank you.